Windmill Books acquires lawyer's 'inside story'

Penguin Random House imprint Windmill Books has acquired The Innocent Killer by lawyer Michael Griesbach.

The narrative non-fiction "inside story" is about "one of America's most notorious wrongful convictions", that of Steven Avery from Wisconsin, who spent 18 years in prison for the violent assault of Penny Beernsten, now the subject of hit TV series "Making a Murderer".

Two years after he was exonerated of that crime - and poised to reap millions in his wrongful-conviction lawsuit - Avery was however arrested for the murder of Teresa Halbach, a freelance photographer who had gone missing several days earlier.

Griesbach is a veteran prosecutor in the state of Wisconsin where the events recounted in the book occurred. He worked on the case to overturn Steven Avery's original rape conviction and reviewed all of the evidence in the Teresa Halbach case, to produce a work of non-fiction "that will make you think again".

Laura Deacon, editorial director of Windmill Books, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) for The Innocent Killer by Michael Griesbach, from Jon Malysiak, publishing director at the American Bar Association (ABA). Windmill Books will publish on the 11th February 2016 as a paperback original, priced £7.99, with the e-book released on the 21st January.

Deacon said: "Having devoured 'Making a Murderer', I was thrilled to discover that Michael Griesbach (a local lawyer who investigated the handling of Steven Avery’s original conviction) had written an account of both cases. The Innocent Killer is compulsive reading, which challenges the justice system and sheds additional light on the case that has gripped the entire world. Opinion is divided over whether Avery is innocent or guilty – this book will certainly add to the debate and make you see elements of the case in a new light."